They walked to the gallows together, pastor and penitent. Each step up took them closer to the abbreviated, fatal fall to come. The criminal stood above the trapdoor. Moments later, it would open to rope him into eternity. An officer asked him if he had any final words. “I place all my confidence in the Lamb who made atonement for my sins. May God have mercy on my soul,” he said.

There are times when you feel like a spectator who views in slow motion the demolition of your life. Mini-explosions rock the foundations of everything that gave you meaning and purpose. Maybe it happens when you stare at the surreal spectacle of a coffin descending into raw earth, or the X-rays of a brain tumor, or the officer standing at your front door serving you papers for divorce.

She was the kind of woman whose biography needed few exclamation points. Invisibility was her most striking feature. Few recalled her, and none remembered any story in which she was either villain or heroine. She was the very incarnation of average.

Once I’m saved, can I become unsaved? Is it possible to lose my salvation? I’ve heard various answers from various churches. And the Bible, in some verses, seems to say Yes, and in other verses seems to say No. So is “once saved, always saved” true or not?--Mike

The FBI director, James Comey, announced yesterday that his bureau would not recommend that Hillary Clinton face criminal charges regarding how she (mis)handled classified documents while serving as secretary of state. Even though she had been "extremely careless," Comey said that her actions were not worthy of prosecution. In other words, Hillary goes unpunished.

There’s an unspoken agreement among many religious people that God is like a good-natured beat cop. He respects and enforces the law, but gives good, ordinary citizens some leeway. He’s not going to ticket you for driving 70 in a 65. He understands that things happen. Just don’t push the envelope.